Stuart Buck

Biography

DEBUT COLLECTION 'CASUALLY DISCUSSING THE INFINITE' AVAILABLE NOW
Casually Discussing the Infinite is the debut collection of the Yorkshire born, Wales dwelling poet Stuart Buck. Tackling issues both microscopic and magnificent, from snails to seismology, bacteria to the Big Bang, this diverse and often powerful collection of verse is the culmination of three years of writing and self-discovery. Life can be both brutal and brilliant, often at the same time, and these poems capture that synergy, of life and death, love and loathing. Both childlike and world-weary, they paint a haunting, mesmeric picture of life both yesterday, today and tomorrow.
ORDER HERE - http://amzn.to/2opu5L2
READ A REVIEW HERE - http://bit.ly/2qJ22Ka
CHAPBOOK OF MICRO-POETRY - http://amzn.to/2o6Su7y
Stuart Buck. Writer, poet, damn fine cook and not bad at chess.
I have spent most of my adult life working as a chef in busy kitchens with little time for any other pursuits. After giving it up in January 2015 I started writing poetry more frequently after previously dabbling in some of the shorter forms.
My poems have been published in/on The Stare's Nest, Acumen, Cultured Vultures, Deadsnakes, Lost Souls Anthology, The Bitchin' Kitsch, Erbacce Journal, Rats Ass Review, The Seventh Quarry, Melancholy Hyperbole, Walking is Still Honest, Yellow Chair Review, Selcouth Station, The Haiku Journal, The Tanka Journal, Storyteller, Gambling the Aisle, The Sunflower Collective and Under the Fable.
I have been a featured poet on 'Caught in the Net', Poetry Super Highway, artisticechoes and in FIVEPoetry.
Shortlisted two years in a row for the Erbacce Prize.

Samples

sex poem
twisted in infinity
like white heat through a butterfly wing
there will be fire at the end of days
he says
but right now i have grass growing through me
right now i have teeth and tiny specks of crimson
popping under my fine china skin
he says there will be fire at the end of days
milk, honey and the perfume of your neck
at the dawning of the day, a dimming of the light
we walked where the dew hung
like punctuation on the whispers of grass
as the sun slowly won its pyrrhic victory
the little lamb begun to gleam
its guts not long spilt by the invaders
already a crow, perhaps a rook or a raven
pecked through the glistening blemish of offal,
wrestling with a tendon, a slippery eel of intestine
an eye, as at a scandinavian feast, became the prized morsel
i turned to look at you then, my child
broken, for this is life and we must live it
words in the silk
Upon the maudlin coccolith we broke apart
Yes, across needles god built us a bridge
Shimmering vertebrae, silver, gold
Don’t look down!
Don’t look down!
Between the discs is the beautiful ocean
Through complex squint and spray, the deep dark
And he, a spectral ladder -
cast mithril locks our way
And oh! Did we climb and clamber
To feel his warm despair between our skins

All poems are copyright of the originating author. Permission must be obtained before using or performing others' poems.

Stu, thank you for your recent comment on my latest poem. I understand what you say. Poets seem attracted by human existence and the world about us which provides a good deal to think about. I first approached religion in a rationalistic way. How did this all come to be? Why am I here? Then there is the faith approach of belief with little or no evidence. This path invariably steers people into some kind of institutionalised religious grouping be it Church , Temple or Mosque. I developed a faith but soon could not cope with institutionalised religion as I found it corrupt and controlling. As I apporach the age of seventy I would describe myself as a free thinker with a profound faith but not one determined by others. Thanks again for your comment. Keith

Stuart, there is no Sale poetry evening in August; it is a 'holiday' month for the MC's. For us all. At least, that's what I understand. Just in case you were planning to join us again, please double check.

Stu, I had been anticipating your 'visit' to Sale for months. I'm sure glad I didn't miss it.

Re 'Four Trees and A Girl'. If it is possible to have a 'favourite' of one's own work, this might be mine. Or not. I often read it just for myself because it makes me feel so good deep inside.

I find this element of detachment making it possible to read my own poems objectively very intriguing. And it certainly isn't self-love. Or arrogance. If a poem of mine doesn't reach that level of separation, I lose it. Or set it aside for more consideration. Usually the latter, because I value the power of a 'first idea'.

Hi Stu
It was great to catch up with you last night. your poetry was fantastic as usual. As I mentioned last night it is worth attending Marsden Jazz festival in October. Julian will be publishing it no doubt closer to the time. Also around the same time is the Chorlton literary festival which is around the same time and will also be on the WOL web site nearer the time. Both of these events get packed so they are good places to get known. All the best with the book. I look forward to more posts. Hope to see you again soon
Cheers
Martin

thanks for commenting on 'devil on my right shoulder' Stu - as always you are very perceptive - and the black dog comment was there to signpost that, sometimes, writers can be sidetracked into dark areas when doubts and insecurities creep in
I appreciate your insightful comments, as always, mate
Ian

I just wanted to thank you for commenting on "..to make something beautiful". And, I hope things are going well with your writing in and outside of poetry. You show quite a unique perspective through it and that, in itself, makes your work invaluable, truly.

Thanks Stu for your kind comments about 'Tragedy', so pleased you enjoyed it. Until I joined here last month I hadn't written much, so I'm still very much developing. Receiving this kind of positive feedback really encourages me to keep writing. Many thanks again. Paul

Hi Stu. I just wondered if you firmed up a visit to Send poetry in December as yet. You mentioned you might get a doss at Davids' ; if not is there still a chance. I'm a one bedroom man in a bungalow so very tricky but If no luck i'll have a word with Greg Freeman who might have a few ideas.

thanks for your insightful and supportive comments on 'Fairy Cakes' Stu - I've responded on the blog as I needed to answer both yours and MC's point in a 'contrast and compare' way.
Thanks for commenting as always
Ian

Thanks for the comments on 'Eater Of Worlds' Stu - appreciate it. The Wigan thing went well - we'll catch up some other time I'm sure - always family first :-) I have a morbid fascination with clowns due to the reading of Stephen King and Peter Straub - the all time classic spook out is 'Something Wicked This Way Comes' film and book - cheers
Ian

Apropos of my comment on Mechanism, Stu, my computer has been for a clean up from malware ( a sort of haemorrhoids of the jacksie(pain in the ass). Thanks for asking. Hope you are ok . I'm revving up for getting my poetry out in the wider world at the moment !

thanks for the continued supportive comment Stu - I also checked on WOL before posting 'Rosetta...' and couldn't believe no one had posted already - pays to be quick eh? From one Yorkshireman to another - I was also moved by those final pictures - not that I'd share that with non-Yorkshire folk you understand - oh, wait a minute....*wink*